Leadership Edge

It takes a lot to be a leader. Are you one?

Being a Leader

It’s not anyone who can lead, and in an industry which expects bestsellers and popular writers and everything in between, it can be harder to find a person who ‘leads’ in this industry. There is simply too many people who want to be number one.

Leadership isn’t about being number one, or having a best selling book. It’s about changing how we look at what we do. Leadership is about taking a team to the next level and learning how each person will be motivated properly.

For some, motivation and leadership is a hands off affair. That isn’t leadership, that isn’t being passionate about what you see in others, it’s rejecting your responsibility. That is the crux of being a leader, accepting responsibility and saying this was your fault, to your core team, and going from there.

Living a Life of Writing is, on the surface a strong blog. It’s been around for many years, more than seven. It’s got a strong following of people and it’s becoming stronger by the day. It’s good, but it’s not a leader. It’s getting there.

If you want to be a leader in writing and blogging there are a few things you will have to do before you can start.

1) Trust someone else’s judgement.

Be Brave

This seems to run counter intuitive to leading, or even being a leader, but the best leaders listen to what is being said. To them, about their product. About how people respond to the ways they encourage their teams. Leaders look at actions and what is being said to them, in actions. If someone takes a moment and says it’s a great blog, say thanks and keep going. If someone says here is what is wrong, and how you can fix it, step back. Step way back and trust them, and go from there.

Be brave and go a bit longer. Become more knowledgable about what works. This will only happen if you trust someone, and let your ego take a back seat. Knowledge is power, but using that knowledge- the ACTION is more so.

2) Fix up and then show your team how to do it again.

Blogs need teams. While some blogs are only one person, most have a team. While some or all of the team members write on the blog, each has an important role to play with a website. Social media and publishing a book can only get you so far if you are one person. The more you work as a group the better. Your blog, or website is yours, and no one else’s. It is your responsibility to adapt and create something better. Passion is one thing, but destroying the passion of your team is another.

Blogs and writers come and go, but the best stay because they showed their team how to follow in their footsteps. Leaders should think about destiny when they write, or when they share ideas.

3) Think like a leader.

Leaders have roles to play. Leaders show people how it’s done and then move out of the way. That part is hard when it’s ‘your baby.’ A leader lets the team do what they were meant to do and does the same, but still has oversight.

4) Still be you.

The thing that makes you a better leader is you. If you are a writer, this simply means you take a moment and build your team up. If you are an editor, you edit but you show people how to edit their own work. A leader won’t be a leader if they don’t stay with who they are deep down.